The actual compositions of motor oils are of critical importance in engine performance. Ascertaining the actual compositions, of course, requires sampling for analyses.
Early engine oil compositions, as for example, in the U.S.A., were unregulated. Specifications affecting packaged engine oils have been progressively developed since the 1930's. However, even though packaged engine oil such as can be obtained in quart or gallon containers is regulated, bulk engine oil such as can be put into the car engine by quick-oil-change businesses, car dealers, or service stations remains unregulated, and is often the subject of concern regarding the quality of the product purchased by the business from suppliers of the business. Knowledge of actual compositions are of great importance both to the automobile manufacturers and to the engine oil manufacturing industry.
It is relatively easy, on the one hand, to obtain samples of packaged engine oil which reflect the actual and intended compositions thereof. One need only purchase a number of the packaged samples off a store shelf to do this.
On the other hand, it is often not so straightforward a procedure to obtain samples of bulk engine oil which reflect the actual and intended compositions thereof. First, bulk engine oil samples as available from engine oil service stations are generally dispensed into the motor vehicle engine directly, and not into separate containers such as would be useful for sampling. When dispensed into an engine the motor oil becomes contaminated or tainted by the old oil and so forth left behind in bearings and other lubricated moving parts, complex oil distribution lines, and in crankcase and valve cover areas in general, and thus, it is of little if any value for scientific analysis. Second, in cases of subterfuge or proprietary engine oil provision such as when a service station would label its visible oil drums with one type or brand of an oil but substitute a cheaper or less desirable type or brand or as when a supplier would not wish to divulge the compositions of its bulk oil supplies provided the public, engine oil service station attendants are loathe to provide engine oil to persons who would analyze the oil to ascertain its actual characteristics.
In addition, an unscrupulous service station operator may tell a customer that he is filling a customer's engine with one type or brand of an oil, whether it be bulk or packaged, but substitute a less desirable type or brand. In such a case as well, the attendant would be unlikely to provide the actual identity of the oil by word or by sample.
In an attempt to address such problems, the State of California has developed a modified valve cover for under cover oil changes, in which a valve cover is modified by increasing its height an inch, and by welding in a baffle plate having an upstanding overflow tube through which oil descends into the working valves and then the lower parts of the engine. The cover can collect only about a quart of oil, and the collected oil is exposed to fumes and heat of the engine through the overflow tube, which is not closed off from the working parts of the engine.
As yell, similar considerations may apply to other vehicle fluids.
It would be desirable to overcome such problems as these and effectively sample oil or other fluid for analysis. It would also be desirable to provide efficient, relatively-inexpensive, and simple-in-manufacture-and-operation ways and means thereof.